In the age of the Intelligent Enterprise, deploying mobility to your field workers has been proven to drive material Enterprise return on investment. The question today isn’t “should we implement a mobile solution?”, it’s “which mobile solution should we implement?”

There are two primary options for SAP enterprise mobility: SAP Work Manager and SAP Asset Manager. With only 2 options it should be an easy decision, but there are a variety of factors to weigh when choosing the right solution for your organization.

We’ve received many questions from customers on this topic and have addressed them for you in a 3 part series focusing on SAP Asset Manager and SAP Work Manager. In this segment, our team outlines key considerations for both SAP mobility products and use cases for each.

An Overview of SAP Work Manager and SAP Asset Manager

SAP Work Manager was first created by Syclo to provide field maintenance workers with an easy to use, electronic means to visualize their tasks and record work at the point of performance. SAP acquired Syclo and Work Manager in 2012 and Work Manager continues to be SAP’s #1 mobile application. On the other hand, Asset Manager is SAP’s latest mobile application for field maintenance workers, boasting a role based, workflow focused design. Both products are proven to reduce asset downtime, extend asset life, and increase ROI. The major difference between them is the way they achieve these goals. SAP Asset Manager is role-based and SAP Work Manager is task-based.

So which is right for you?

If your organization’s security policies require that your asset management software be on-premise, then SAP Work Manager is the right choice.

• While SAP Work Manager runs both in the Cloud and on-premise, SAP Asset Manager is a Cloud only application.

If your company’s strategy is “cloud first” in order to limit, repurpose or eliminate IT infrastructure, then SAP Asset Manager is a good choice

• IT infrastructure is managed by SAP in the Cloud.

If you use Windows devices, then SAP Work Manager is the right choice.

• Both iOS and Android device support are available for SAP Work Manager and SAP Asset Manager. However, companies who utilize Microsoft devices will find support and integration options via SAP Work Manager.

If your organization prefers to pay for software via expense versus capital budget, then both SAP Asset Manager and SAP Work Manager (when deployed in the Cloud) are options

• When deployed and maintained in the Cloud, both products allow your organization to fund the software through a per user, per month model. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model option allows your organization to align expense with ongoing return on investment, as opposed to large up-front capital purchase of software.

Both products will provide your team with the mobile capabilities necessary to improve response time, extend asset life, and increase ROI. Choosing the best option will depend on your organization’s business and IT goals.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of this series where we will dig into the technical details of an SAP Asset Manager deployment. Contact us for a free assessment of your specific requirements.